Pyrotechnic device



Aprii 3951 H. c. cLAusER HAIL fi fi 'PYROTECHNIC DEVICE Filed Nov. 1, 1947 v 4' IN V EN TOR. F15. HERBERT c. CLAUJER.

BY RQBERT 5. LONG' Patented Apr. 17, 1951 Herbert Claiiser an (1 Robert S. Long, Westerville, Ohio, assignors to The Kilgore Manufacturing Company, tion of Ohio Westerville, Ohio, a corpora- Application November 1, 1947, Serial No. 7 83,559 2 Claims. (Cl. 102-372) This invention relates to pyrotechnic devices, and more particularly to a device and method of simulating repeating gun firing.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a training device adapted to simulate the rapid firing of a gun or guns under both day and night conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described for use in connection with military or police training which operates to produce both visual and sound effects simulating machine gun or automatic rifle firing, which is ruggedly constructed from any suitable material such as lightweight metal, and which is readily reloaded for repeat operations as well as easily and safely operated by unskilled personnel.

An object is also to provide a pyrotechnic device having a' plurality of ports to receive an explosive and a means for sequentially igniting the explosive to produce the visual and sound efiects obtained, for example, by the firing of a thirty caliber machine gun operated at a rate of from about 600. to 1,000 shots per minute.

It is also an object to provide a training device of the character described and a method of operating the same in which a plurality of such devices can be combined and fired sequentially or simultaneously to simulate both visually and audibly either irregular or continuous firing of bursts from several guns at difierent positions.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein preferred forms of embodiments of the invention are shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an elevational view of one side of a pyrotechnic device constructed in accordance with the present invention;

- Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, partly in section and elevation, taken substantially on the center line of Fig. 1 further illustrating the construction; and

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of several of the devices shown in Fig. 1' connected together with delay fuzes and illustrating diagrammatically one .method of forming a network of several such (devices.

Referring further to the drawing, the device illustrated comprises in general a metal block having a centrally positioned and axially disposed channel 2| extending from end to end and a plu- I rality of open ports 22 connected therewith. The

block is here shown in the form of an elongated -cylinder,-'howeverlit can be constructed in other 2 shapes or form if preferred. In one form, a satisfactory length for the block is about six inches where the number of ports 22-is limited to approximately longitudinally spaced apart on inch centers and in rows similarly spaced apart. It will be readily'apparent, however, that the length of the block 20 and the spacing of the ports and rows can be varied as required to contain a larger or smaller number of such ports, the spacing and number of ports depending upon the quantity and rate of firing to be simulated.

Any suitable detonating means can be carried by the block in explosive igniting relation with the explosives in the ports. Such detonating means in operation-should function through a period of time at least as great as the time necessary to auricularly detect two distinct and sequential explosives of a fire arm, to effect sequential ignition of the explosives and simulate machine gun firing. In the present embodiment, a channel 2| extends from end to end of the block as shown. In operation, this channel is filled with a slow burning powder 25 which when ignited provides a fuze or fire train producing an ash or residue forming a substantially solid core within the channel. This core then provides a packing extending throughout the channel and into th restricted passages 21, formed at the inner ends of the ports 22. Such packing prevents the powder 28 loaded into the ports 22,

which is of the flash and report type, from blowing back into the channel 2| when ignited from the burning of the delay fuze powder 25.

Any suitable means may be employed to hold the powder 25 in position until ready for use. In the preferred embodiment, the open ends, of channel 2| are covered with pieces of adhesive material 30 and 3|, such as, for example, scotch tape. A strip of firecracker fuze material 32 is also held in position adjacent one of the open ends of channel 2| by means of the same piece of tape, for example, 30 as illustrated in the drawing. Thus when the fuze 32 is ignited the fire travels to the powder 25 and ignites the same at one end of the channel 2|, and from which it burns throughout the length of the block 20 sequentially exploding the powder in each of the ports in turn as the fire reaches it.

The ports 22 are drilled from the outer surface of the block part way into the interior thereof, and in the example given would have a diameter of about Of an inch extending to a depth of approximately inch. At the inner end of each of these ports a smaller diameter bore is provided which forms the restricted passage 21 communicating between the channel and ports 22. These passages are of the order of approximately 1% of an inch in diameter for the example stated and extend in depth about of an inch where the channel 2| has a diameter of about of an inch and the block a diameter of 1 /2 inches.' In addition, it is to be noted, that the transversely disposed'ports 22 are spaced from one another in spiral relation along the length of the block. Thus when the powder 28 is loaded therein each port is so spaced with respect to the channel 2| that the passage 2'! is in explosive ignitin relation with the fuze powder 25 for sequentially ignitin the explosive 28 as the powder 25 burns from one end of the channel to the other.

The powder 28 after being loaded into the ports 22 is retained in firing position by wrapping a strip or strips of adhesive material 35, such as scotch tape for example similar to the tape 35, around the block 20 as illustrated. Either a single strip of sufiicient width to cover all the ports in the block can be used, or as shown a relatively narrow strip can be wrapped in the form of a spiral so as to cover the ports. In either case, however, it is preferred to have the material or tape scored as at 35 so as to form individual closures for each of the ports 22. Thus when the device is fired this tape is readily blown away and'the end of the port uncovered by the explosion, and thus does not interfere in any way. with the operation or firing of succeeding ports.

In operation, it is only necessary to place the block 26 either in a vertical or horizontal position directly upon the ground and light the fuze 32 by either electrical or mechanical means. Then, as previously described, the powder in each of the ports 22 is exploded in sequence, i. e., one

explosion following another so rapidly as to simulate the firing of a 30 caliber machine gun, for example, being fired at the rate of about 800 shots per minute. It is also possible to secure the effect of intermittent or irregular gun firing by leaving one or more of the ports 22 unloaded according to the pattern of firing to be simulated. The block 29, if desired, can be mounted in a holding member such as a vise, or the like, adapted to grip the block securely.

Referring to Fig. 3, a method is illustrated'for connecting a plurality of the blocks 20 together. In this way the blocks can be located at different positions on the terrain such as might be used for concealing or mounting machine guns or automatic rifles under combat conditions. The blocks 20 are then connected at their ends with strips of delay fuze 40 forming a fire train from one block to the next, the fuzes 48 being connected to the open ends of the channel 2| as shown. The fuzes 40 can have equal rates of burning between the various blocks 2| or they can have variable burnin times and thus irregularly timed or intermittent bursts of firing can be simulated. If

the fuzes 40 all have the same burning rates, then the firing of. the successive blocks will be at regular intervals and can be timed to follow one an- .other continuously and without any apparent break. However, if desired, an appreciable interval of time can be secured between the firing of successive blocks depending upon the burning rate of the iuzes used. It will be apparent also that substantiall simultaneous firing from a plurality of positions or locations can be obtained by using the blocks connected in eries as shown in Fig. 3 and igniting the connecting fuzes 49 at more than one point and at the same time. Also, a similar effect can be obtained by using a series 4 of blocks, each series having several blocks 20 connected as illustrated in Fig. 3. In such an arrangement the starting fuzes can be ignited substantially at the same time and simultaneous bursts of firing from more than one position obtained.

With the blocks connected in series as described in connection with Fig. 3, or when using a system in which there are several series each series having a plurality of blocks so connected, and regardless of the burning characteristics of the delay or connecting fuzes 40, the type of firing obtained can be controlled further by varying the powder loading pattern used with respect to the ports 22 in each block. Thus by loading only certain of the ports in one or more blocks it is possible to simulate a gun or guns firing at irregular intervals and over an extended period of time in such a system. Such bursts of firing can be followed by regular bursts of continuous firing if so desired by loading the remaining blocks and firing them as previously described.

The igniting of the fuze 32 serves to carry a fire train to the fuze 25 which in turn is in explosive igniting relation with-the powder 28 in the ports. However, with respect to an arrangement where the blocks are connected in series, or where a system-comprising several such series of blocks is employed, a single or common starting fuze can be used such as shown at 4|, Fig. 3. This fuze in turn can be ignited by any suitable means, such as electrical, located at a remote position if desired. If preferred, the fuze ii, for example, can be dispensed with and one or more of the delay fuzes 40 ignited through a direct connection with the firing source. Similarly where a system of several such series of blocks is used, a single or common starting fuze connected to each series can be employed and fired from a remote point, or if preferred several fuzes connected to the system at difierent points can be used and fired from one or more sources. Thus means are provided for forming a'network of blocks and firing them in an order to simulate one or more guns firing under various conditions.

With the construction illustrated and described, and using a fiash and report type of powder in the ports 22, it will also be apparent that flashes of fire are obtained from the ports as well as explosive sound. Thus both visually and audibly, rapid firing under either day or night combat conditions is simulated. From this disclosure it is apparent that there is provided a method and devices for simulating such types of firing.

While the formsof embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all comingwithin the scope of the claims which follows.

We claim:

1. A pyrotechnic device comprising in combination, an elongated block having a series of transversely disposed ports therein and spaced from one another in spiral relation along the length of the block, one end of each port extending to the outer surface of block, an explosive in each of the ports, said block having a longitudinally extending channel, a fuze in said channel, the opposite end of each port being in explosive igniting relation with the fuze for separately igniting each of the explosives and at a different time as the fuze burns.

2. A pyrotechnic device comprising in combination along the length of the block, one end of each port extending to the outer surface of the block, an' explosive in the ports, a fuse carried in the block, the opposite end of each port being in explosive igniting relation with the fuse for sequentially igniting the explosives as the fuse burns, and a strip of cover material wrapped spirally around the outer surface of the block and having a scored area opposite the exposed end of each port to facilitate removal of the cover material when the explosive is fired.

HERBERT C. CLAUSER.

ROBERT S. LONG.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 372,753 Hurst Nov. 8, 1887 794,371 Matthew July 11, 1905 811,048 Friedel Jan. 30, 1906 981,677 Pain Jan. 17, 1911 1,268,589 McAdams June 4, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 644,397 France 1928 

